Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed a near total ban in 2021.
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Sunday that he opposes a national ban on abortion, saying it would take away the authority of a state like his that is poised ban abortion if Roe v. Wade is overturned by the Supreme Court.
“I think that’s inconsistent with what we’ve been fighting for for decades, which is that we wanted the Roe vs. Wade reversed and the authority to return to the states,” Hutchinson told ABC’s “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz. “So, as a matter of principle, that’s where it should be.”
Hutchinson appeared on “This Week” just days after an unprecedented leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion on abortion cast a new spotlight on what could happen if the high court overturns Roe v. Wade.
The document, obtained by Politico, shows the Supreme Court’s conservative majority of justices are ready to overturn nearly 50 years of established abortion rights precedent via the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health case out of Mississippi that the court heard last year. A ruling is expected by the end of June.
In March 2021, Hutchinson signed a bill that prohibits abortion in all cases except to save the life of the mother. Cases involving rape and incest are not considered exceptions under the law, something Hutchinson said he did not completely agree with at the time.
The bill also charges anyone who performs a non-approved abortion with a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
